Kate's Turn
by Fionavar108
Summary: Futurefic. Even in death, Tony's a lucky man. Character death, obviously. Tiva, Tate.


[June 13, 2053]

The wind rustled through the leaves, making her glance up and smile through the tears. As she closed her eyes and let the sunshine on her face, she heard footsteps. Brushing away a lock of silvered hair, she glanced to her right and saw a man walk with slow, sure steps toward her, leaning on his cane intermittently.

"I am glad you could make it, Director," she said, reaching around with one arm for a hug. He looked down at her, one eyebrow raised in question and in exasperation. "Or would you prefer 'Probie'?" she asked impishly.

A chuckle escaped his lips, letting her again glimpse the boyish innocence that had slowly been replaced over the years with a stoic resolve and hard-edged determination. "I think today of all days, that name would be appropriate. He'd get a real laugh out of hearing me called that again, wouldn't he?"

She followed his gaze, as they both looked down at the headstone before them.

_Anthony DiNozzo_

_1975-2053_

"_Laugh and the world laughs with you." _

_Beloved husband. Adoring father. Loyal friend._

_Hero to us all._

He turned to her, observing that although time had added wrinkles - and few scars - to her face, Ziva David-DiNozzo still had the most luminous, intense eyes he had ever seen. He looked over to another headstone, immediately adjacent to Tony's. "I'm curious, Ziva. Why did you choose to bury him here?"

There was a silence as she too turned to look at the gravesite of Caitlin Todd. She shrugged. "Tony deserved to be buried next to his one true love," she replied, quietly.

"What?" McGee asked, shocked. "No! I mean, that's not … not …" He stopped, frustrated that he had never been able to NOT stammer in her presence. He tried again. "It wasn't like that between them, Ziva. Tony loved you. He married you, for God's sake. He and Kate never even went on a date … they were just … you know, 'Tony and Kate,'" he tried to explain.

"Yes," she responded. "Exactly. Tony and Kate." She smiled wistfully.

"Ziva, I don't know where you got this idea. Kate wasn't like that to him. Don't get me wrong - she was great. I loved Kate dearly, and we all thought the world of her. And I guess Tony did too, of course, even if he never said it," he argued.

"But he did say it, Tim," Ziva interrupted gently. "He told me himself."

"What? That she was his 'one true love'?" he asked, incredulously. At her nod, emotions warred within him - grief at the departure of a man that he had considered friend, mentor and brother, and disappointment and dismay that he could be so callous.

After decades of friendship, Ziva found it easy to read McGee. Then again, he had never been much of an enigma. "It is not like that, Tim," she said, patting his arm. "He did not do it to hurt me. In fact, he probably never even knew he said the words - if he acknowledged the feelings to himself."

"I don't understand," he said, shaking his head.

"Remember Jakarta?" she asked. He winced, involuntarily touching the cluster of healed, scarred-over bullet wounds on his thigh. Though the flesh had healed, the nerves never would. He nodded. "You remember how Tony always reacted strangely to anesthetics?" He nodded again.

[August 25, 2013]

The lights had been dimmed, but that was no problem for Ziva's well-trained senses as she crept into the hospital room. The doctors had said that Tony was expected to make a full recovery, but she had to see for herself that her husband was all right. She could see he was in pain, even though he was asleep. How could he not be, when the doctors had been ordered to use only half the usual dose of pain medication due to his hypersensitivity. Trying to sooth him, she wiped the sweat from his brow, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek as she did so. He woke with a start. "Kate?" he asked, eyes wild as he looked at her.

She remained silent, but his eyes remained unfocused. "Kate?" he asked again. Tears in her eyes, she answered, dully, "No, Tony. It is Ziva. I am here, Tony."

But he didn't hear her, responding to a reply he heard only in his head. "Kate, how can you be here?" The sorrow in his voice eloquent for its restraint. Ziva stared at him, unable to move, frozen in shock and hurt and anger and concern and yearning. "Why is he not calling my name?" she wailed in her head.

"Don't look at me like that, Kate," Tony said, oblivious to Ziva's inner turmoil, staring beyond her as if someone was a little behind her and off to the side. "I _wasn't_ reckless. I was careful, I swear!" he protested to that unheard voice. "You know I couldn't let anything happen to Ziva. Or Probie. I had to take out that sniper," he insisted, pleadingly. "She's my wife, Kate, what do you want from me?" he said angrily. But the expression on his face quickly turned to dismay.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, panic in his voice. "Wait, don't go. Come on, Kate, don't be like that. Please? I miss you," he pleaded. "I miss you," he repeated, adding , "so much. God, I miss you. Stay? Just a little while longer?" His face softened. "That's not true," he said, teasingly, slurring his words only slightly. "I do NOT always get my way. You never wore that schoolgirl uniform for me, did you?" he said, grinning dopily. There was silence for a while.

Ziva jumped, startled as Tony began speaking again. "God, I wish …" he trailed off. "We could've been happy. I could have made you happy, Kate. I'd have been a great husband to you." Ziva began to shake with emotion, but Tony continued, undeterred. His eyes began to close. "What? Of course I'm happy with Ziva. I love her … I'm not _complaining_, Kate, geez. Ziva's tremendous. She's … well, _you'd_ like her. She's strong, and beautiful and she doesn't take any of my crap ... Yeah, heh, just like you … yeah, she is pretty great. I love my life with her, but I can't help thinking I still should have been married to you. I know … what can I say, I'm weird like that. I know … So. You doing OK? What? No, it's _not_ a stupid question!"

His eyes were closed, but tears began rolling down his cheeks. "What? So soon? But why? No, if you have to, I'll be OK … I will. OK, I'll try. Look, don't worry, Ziva always takes care of me … just … come visit if you can sometime? I miss you …" Soon a soft snore told her that he'd drifted back into unconsciousness.

Ziva stood, feeling oddly guilty as if she'd been eavesdropping on a real, but private, conversation. Finally, she hesitantly left, crying silently as she walked slowly past stares of the Marines standing guard outside who she'd snuck past on her way in.

[June 13, 2053]

"I did not get the chance to be really angry at him at the time," she told Tim. "Tony was hurt, and you … well, we all thought we might lose you. But I resented Kate for so long." She paused. "You know, it was Abby who helped me move on from those feelings …"

"Figures," McGee said, absently fingering the wedding ring he still wore. "She always was a meddler."

"Yes," Ziva said, smiling. "She told me I was being silly. That Tony adored me, that even if he had loved Kate, it did not lessen his love for me, that most women would kill to have what I had … that my husband was a hottie …"

"And she was right," she continued, smiling bravely. "Except for that one night in Jakarta, not once did Tony ever make me feel like I was not his first choice. He adored me, he showered me with romance, he stood by me in the bad times and celebrated with me when things went well. He was my best friend … and a passionate, incredible lover," she added, snickering as McGee blushed. "But I guess I never got rid of the feeling like I had … stolen … something from Kate, or from both of them. Tony and I had a wonderful, wonderful lifetime together, Tim. Maybe now it is time for them to renew their acquaintance."

McGee looked at Ziva for a while, and then gathered her in for a fierce hug. After many long minutes, he pulled back and looked at her. "Shall I walk you back to the limo?" he asked gently. "The kids are waiting."

"You go on first, Tim," Ziva replied, studiously ignoring the fact that McGee's starched dress shirt was now drenched with her tears. Smiling, she assured him. "Go on. I just want a few more minutes here." Studying her carefully, he nodded, patted her shoulder awkwardly, and made his way toward the cars parked by the path.

Ziva kneeled by Tony's grave for several long moments. Finally, she reached out and patted the headstone. "Farewell, Tony. My love." She stood and dusted off her black gown. Then, although she felt strange about doing so, she walked a little to the left, and said, "Goodbye, Kate," acknowledging a woman she had never met.

And as she walked away, she felt a breeze caress her cheek, and she could swear she heard a quiet, mellow voice in the wind. "Thanks for taking such good care of him, Ziva."


End file.
